Of Subways and Ramblings
by InsertBrillianceHere
Summary: Yes, that was probably it.  She had left the side of her prince to go to the book launch of a reluctant friend because she pitied him.   But possibly also because she missed him. AU now.
1. Part 1

_Summary: "Yes, that was probably it. She had left the side of her prince to go to the book launch of a reluctant friend because she pitied him. (But possibly also because she missed him.)"_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing!_

**A/N: So I've been having a bit of writer's block/life has been getting in the way of me continuing **_**Going off the Grid**_**. I was about halfway through the next chapter for that story when this hit me and I felt like I had to get it out of my system. Basically this is set right before Blair is about to leave New York for Monaco to marry her Prince (ugh) so there will be spoilers for all of season 4. I hope you enjoy! Xx ibh**

Dan sipped on his champagne as he surveyed the mingling guests mindless of the waiters masterfully weaving around them offering hor d'oeuvres and topping up glasses. He quietly rejoiced in the brief moment to himself as he listened to the indistinct hum of conversation and clinking of glasses whilst the jazz band played softly in the background. He had been introduced to countless critics and had used every bit of the charm he had learned from his past few years in the Upper East Side in order to impress them because, according to his Editor, tonight could 'make or break' his career. To be honest, he couldn't have cared less, which was probably why he was in fact making a great impression on all the guests; no nervous rambles were escaping his lips tonight. Automatically he once again brought the champagne glass to his lips and took another sip; it tasted slightly bitter and he chuckled as the writer in him immediately seized upon the simile: it was as bitter as he felt. This book, his Editor had promised, would be a huge success; "_a dream come true!_" and it was really, except that it was slowly turning into a nightmare. What should have been a wonderful night celebrating the launch of his debut novel was in fact the final metaphorical nail in the metaphorical coffin. Tomorrow thousands ("_possibly millions!_") of people would be reading his book, it felt like he would be more exposed than if he were to stand naked in front of them all. But what was worse was that not only would he be exposing himself but also his family and friends – his family and friends who had already rejected him after reading just the first chapter. He should've put a stop to it all when he had had the chance.

_One month earlier…_

The day Dan discovered that Vanessa had stolen his manuscript would be forever etched in his memory. It had started out boring enough, he had woken up alone in the loft slightly hung-over and smelling like he hadn't showered in a few days (which, truth be told he probably hadn't). Scratching at the slight beard that was beginning to grow, he crawled out of bed and ambled over to the bathroom. Stripping himself of his clothes he turned on the shower and, not before testing the temperature with his fingers first, he stepped in and relished in the heat. Reaching for the bar of soap he mentally kicked himself as he once again realized that it was in need of replacing. Sighing to himself he made do with the tired looking sliver of soap and tried to scrub himself clean of what had been a week's worth of moping and all-round pathetic-ness. He had been informed a week ago that Blair Waldorf would be returning to New York with her future husband in tow in order to spend some time with her pregnant mother before she returned to Monaco to have the "_royal-wedding of the century" _(her words, not his). The thought made him more depressed and simultaneously more excited as the days drew closer and closer to her return. As he bent down to scrub his legs clean he contemplated the fact that Blair would be back in New York tomorrow and he smiled slightly before he inevitably did the math and reminded himself that this meant Blair would be getting married in just over a month. Now he felt nauseous, but then that could have been his body's punishment for the amount of beer he had consumed last night trying to forget this fact.

After washing his hair he stepped out of the shower and commenced shaving, finally feeling decidedly more refreshed and properly groomed he made his way back to his room to get dressed. Today would be a new day, he told himself, because today he was going to finally get over this stupid thing he had for Blair Waldorf. With more hesitancy than he would have liked to admit, he purposefully put on a plaid shirt; Blair Waldorf would not be having any influence on his wardrobe today, nor ever again. If he was ever going to be over her then tomorrow was the deadline, he was going to make good on the promise he had drunkenly made himself last night because he would be seeing her tomorrow and if he felt even one irritating butterfly then surely he would explode with frustration. Life had been playing some cruel joke on him for the past couple of months and he would be damned if he would let it continue. With firm resolve, Dan pocketed his wallet and phone and marched out of the loft. When he checked his mailbox on the way out of the building he saw it as a good sign that on the day he had decided to get over Blair Waldorf he received his copy of _The New Yorker_ marking the beginning of a new week; a fresh start.

A coffee in one hand, a hot dog with the lot in the other (his hangover was still in full force) and _The New Yorker_ tucked safely under his arm, Dan wandered through Central Park. Glad that he had decided to take advantage of what was turning out to be a beautiful day, he found himself a spot on the grass looking out over The Pond and proceeded to devour his hot dog (another thing that Blair Waldorf would hate, he thought smugly). Once he had finished, he brushed the crumbs off his lap and lay out on his stomach, sipping his coffee whilst he lazily flicked through the magazine. He had just swallowed the last few drops of his coffee when he saw it. There typed neatly across the page in front of him was _Inside_ by Anonymous. His stomach dropped as his eyes scanned the all-to-familiar words of the first chapter of his manuscript. Leaping to his feet, Dan sprinted to the closest trashcan and threw up. A passer-by stopped to check if he was alright but Dan remained oblivious to him, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve, his heart was hammering in his chest as he strode over to the discarded magazine and reread the excerpt. At the bottom of the final page of the excerpt he found in fine print the name of the publishing agency, _Grand Central Publishing_. Using his phone to find the address he all but ran to the nearest subway and headed to Park Ave.

He doesn't much remember how long it took him before he convinced the receptionist at the publishing agency that he was in fact the anonymous writer of _Inside_, nor does he remember how long he had to wait in order to see Jonathon Karp, the man publishing his novel, what he does remember though was the sheer panic. Jonathon was a nice enough man and immediately gave Dan the new contact details of Vanessa. When Dan demanded that Jonathon abort the publishing of his novel, Jonathon begged that he rethink this 'rash' decision. Dan would have felt sorry for the Editor, whose eyes clearly showed worry of an imminent lawsuit, if it weren't for the fact that he was completely distracted by the rage coursing through his veins. Vanessa had truly gone too far this time. Promising Jonathon that he would think it over and get back to him in the next few days, if only to appease the Editor whilst he dealt with Vanessa, Dan headed home to Brooklyn.

His call to Vanessa was heated to say the least and he hung up on her when she said that she would send him the cheques – typically, she was once again completely missing the principle of it all. Grabbing a beer from the fridge, ignoring the fact that it was not yet 2pm, Dan ran through a mental list of who he knew would have a subscription to _The New Yorker_. Lily and Rufus? Yes. Serena? No. Nate? A definite no. Chuck? Maybe. Jenny? No. His mum? No. Eric? Well, he would probably read Lily and Rufus' copy. Blair? No, but he knew that as soon as she landed she would most likely grab a copy for the drive home. Dan wasn't one to swear often but he couldn't help the train of expletives that escaped his mouth as he paced through the kitchen, one hand running through his hair whilst the other nursed his beer. There was no way that anyone on that list who read the excerpt would not be able to put two and two together, he had not been exactly subtle in the naming of his characters – he liked to think that had he decided to have it published he would have made an effort to go back and be more creative with the names. No such luck here. He shuddered to think of everyone's reactions; his first chapter had not been kind to any of his characters, it was full of the shallow observations and judgements of a lonely outsider who somewhat hated himself for wanting in. He decided that his next move would be to do some damage control.

First, he headed to The _Palace_. Lily wasn't home but Rufus and Eric were happy to see him. Dan tried to act as though his world wasn't about to come crashing down as he chatted casually with them, his eyes scanning the kitchen and living room for the magazine. Finally, he caught sight of it sitting, unopened on Lily's desk. Trying to appear as normal as possible, Dan quickly walked over and snatched it up, "Do you mind if I borrow this, dad?" he asked, "I think there's something wrong with my subscription; I haven't received one in a few weeks actually." Neither Rufus nor Eric were suspicious of Dan's spontaneous lie and fifteen minutes later when he left _The Palace_, Dan hastily threw the offending magazine in a trashcan a few blocks away (just in case for some reason a member of the family happened to have a peak in the trashcan outside _The Palace_ – which, would not be all that surprising in the Upper East Side.)

Next, he headed to _The Empire_ on the pretence of seeing Nate. Luckily Chuck wasn't home so Dan didn't have to worry about fooling the guy who was quite frankly _always_ suspicious of Dan, life-destroying novel or not. Plus there was the added benefit that Nate had decided to spend the day playing _Black Ops _and smoking weed, which meant that when Dan not-so-subtly enquired about Chuck's magazine collection, Nate's interest was not piqued. In fact, he merely laughed and told Dan if he wanted some good porn he could direct him toward some great websites ("_Seriously man, it's what the internet was _made_ for, who even looks at magazines anymore?"_). Somewhat disturbed but mostly relieved Dan made his way back to Brooklyn and his biggest problem: how to prevent Blair Waldorf from reading _The New Yorker_.

Sitting down on one of the barstools in the kitchen of the loft, Dan nervously played with his phone. He knew what had to be done but seriously doubted his ability to do it. Sighing with great gusto (he was allowed to be dramatic today), he scrolled through his contact list and hit the call button.

"Humphrey," came the cool voice of Blair Waldorf, "couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

Dan chuckled softly as he pictured the smirk gracing her lips, "And miss one of our weekly movie sessions? Never!" he cried, "In a month or so you'll be a princess; too good to watch movies with a mere pauper like me."

"I'm already too good for you, Humphrey!" Blair quipped lightly, "I just figured since we had come to the end of our Netflix cue, that perhaps last week was our final movie night while I'm in Monaco."

"While you're in Monaco," Dan repeated softly, "so does that mean we'll be having movie nights once you get back to New York?" He cringed at the all-to-apparent hopefulness in his words.

"Maybe," Blair replied lightly, "but what is it you wanted to watch tonight?"

"Actually," Dan answered slowly, trying to appear as casual as possible, "I was thinking that maybe we could both read a book. And you know, talk about it when you get back, maybe over some perogies?"

"Ugh, Cabbage Patch, you have not changed a bit since I last saw you! Perogies, _really_?" Blair cried out.

"Well it doesn't sound like you've changed all that much either, Waldorf." Dan retorted, not that this bothered him in the least, "Ok, maybe the Ukrainian food was pushing it a bit, coffee then?"

He could almost see her rolling her eyes, "Coffee sounds much more civilized," Blair replied, "what book then?"

Dan couldn't believe that he had successfully schemed his way out of trouble. Lily, Rufus and Eric would not miss their copy of _The New Yorker_, Chuck only had subscriptions to porn magazines and Blair would be spending the entirety of her trip back to New York reading Jonathon Tropper's _This is Where I Leave You._ He would have celebrated his brilliance but he knew it wasn't yet time to rejoice; he had spoken to Blair Waldorf on the phone today and the butterflies felt more persistent than ever. So he wasn't over her yet. But then really, if he had to set a proper deadline on the date in which to be over her by, surely it would be more appropriate to set it as the day she leaves New York! So there was still plenty of time…

_Back to the Present_

Dan smirked bitterly to himself as he downed the rest of his glass and headed over to the bar for a refill. The memory of that day, although clear was really just the calm before the storm. It was in fact the next day that everything came crashing down around him; thinking about it now he can't help but laugh at how foolish (or was it optimistic?) he had been to believe that the problem had been so easily solved. Although he may have been able to prevent his immediate friends and family from reading it, he couldn't very well prevent the rest of New York. He shouldn't have been surprised when Georgina gatecrashed Blair's welcome-home party; she had been hanging around the Upper East Side like a bad smell for the past couple of months constantly searching for the next scandal or scheme to come her way. So when she sauntered into the Waldorf's foyer looking smug as all hell, Dan really should have been more prepared for what she was about to do. Blair, Chuck, Serena and Nate immediately stormed over to her blocking her from entering any further into the apartment. Dan, who had been slower on the uptake, warily strode over to the group just as Blair had demanded that she leave.

"But I'm not here to ruin your party, B" Georgina had simpered innocently, "I only came to give Dan my congratulations!"

Dan remembered clearly the feeling of the blood draining from his face as the group all turned to stare at him curiously. "Georgina," he had quietly begged, "maybe we could talk outside?"

"Ew!" cried Blair, "Don't tell me you've actually knocked her up this time?" Dan had been lost for words but Georgina apparently wasn't.

"No, silly!" she laughed with a cruel glint in her eyes, "Congratulations on his _book_! Dan is getting _published_!"

"Georgina," Dan once again tried, but then seeing no compassion in the girl before him decided to go a different route, "I don't know what you're talking about." Thinking about it now Dan shook his head; it had really been quite a pathetic and desperate attempt. If anything, it only demonstrated to Georgina what she had suspected all along: he really didn't want anyone to find out.

"_Inside_!" She all but shouted, "I saw the excerpt in _The New Yorker_ this morning. You must be _so_ proud!"

Once again Dan made an ill-fated attempt at denial but he was quickly interrupted by the poisonous brunette standing before him, "Oh, come on Dan!" she laughed gleefully, "Sabrina Van Watson? Belle Walters? Ian Hunter? I mean, no offence, but you really didn't put much originality into the character names. It was blatantly obvious who wrote it."

Everything after that was a blur of shock, confusion and then eventually, once everyone had read it, anger. Nate shut him out; his character's depiction as a pot-smoking, over-privileged, under-achieving, and all-around shallow lacrosse-player had too many hyphens in it to be forgivable. Serena had shouted at him, accused him of using her in order to gain access to their world and refused to ever speak to him again. Chuck had quietly ambushed him at the loft and threatened to destroy him should he ever set foot in the Upper East Side again. Eric had been disappointed and angry that Dan had so blatantly hurt his family and friends and so he too had shut him out. Blair, however, hadn't bothered to confront him at all; rather she completely ignored the situation and instead turned all of her energy into planning her wedding (for some reason her lack of reaction seemed to hurt Dan the most; she clearly didn't care about what he thought of her even if the first chapter didn't exactly tell the whole story). It was his father's reaction though that led him to call up Jonathon and give him the go ahead.

Rufus had looked at Dan with such disappointment that even the memory of it makes him wince, "_Who are you?"_ his father had asked him softly, the words were like daggers to the heart. Dan had no response for his father, and so had simply turned and walked out of _The Palace_ and headed back to the loft, cashed the cheques he had finally received from Vanessa and started looking for a new place (one month later and he had finally found a place in Brooklyn; he would be spending the rest of the weekend packing up his things in the loft). At first he had been upset by everyone's reactions but Rufus' had only served to make him angry. So there it was, he was getting his novel published out of spite. _Pathetic_. Of course when he had calmed down a couple of weeks later he was also able to convince himself that publishing _Inside_ would be for the best, if only to literally give his friends and family the full-story should they ever decide to take the time to read it. When he contemplated it all further he was even able to convince himself that Vanessa's words from the night of the Alumni party had subconsciously struck a chord, _"be a great man instead of always being a good boy!"_

Dan once again glanced around at the party that was now starting to pick up in volume as guests drank more and more. _A great man_, indeed. Here he was at his own book launch party drinking alone at the bar; once again an outsider looking in, except now he had no desire whatsoever to change his situation.

"Self-pity doesn't look good on you Humphrey."

Dan spun around in shock to find Blair Waldorf dressed in a beautiful, blood red gown standing directly behind him. "_Blair!" _he exclaimed, wondering if he was hallucinating, "what are you doing here?'

The petite brunette merely rolled her eyes, "Well, you invited me didn't you? Really, Humphrey, I know you come from Brooklyn but even _you_ must know that it's common courtesy to remember who you invited to your _own_ book launch!"

"Right, well I just… I didn't… didn't – "

"Didn't think I would show up?" she interrupted knowingly, "Well I'll admit it definitely was a spur of the moment decision to come here but it just didn't seem…" and here she trailed off as if searching for the appropriate word.

"Didn't seem…?" Dan pressed.

"Right." She answered with some resolve, "It didn't seem right."

This only seemed to further confuse him so rolling her eyes and sighing with exasperation in true Waldorf style, she merely grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the band, "Dance with me," she demanded.

"Huh?" asked Dan, too confused for words.

Blair, finally reaching her destination of what she decided would be the makeshift dance floor located just in front of the band, turned and looked up at him with a smirk firmly in place, "You know for a writer, you're not particularly proficient with words, Cabbage Patch." Quietly tutting at him, she grabbed his right hand and placed it on her waist whilst she placed her own on his shoulder and put her other hand in his. "We're dancing because it gets you away from the bar and back amongst your guests."

"And why would I want to do that?" Asked Dan grumpily, not that he was about to voluntarily let go of her anytime soon.

"Aren't you supposed to be impressing these people tonight? You know, creating a good report with the critics and such?" she asked condescendingly.

"You sound like Jonathon," Dan moaned in response, "I've been talking to them all night, Waldorf, I'm done trying to impress countless strangers; let them read the book and decide for themselves what they think!" Blair just glared at him and not wanting to push his luck with what he still thought could be an incredibly vivid dream he finally decided just to consent, "Oh, fine then," he muttered, "I'll dance." Blair's soft 'humph' of victory did not go unnoticed by him.

Five minutes passed without a word until Blair, apparently unable to contain it any longer, blurted out, "You know, you truly are a terrible dancer, Humphrey."

Dan threw his head back and laughed loudly for what was the first time in weeks. "God, I've missed you, Waldorf!" he exclaimed with mirth as he looked down at her.

She smiled back at him sadly, "I probably shouldn't be here," she whispered softly to him, "but it just didn't seem…"

"Right?" he supplied, his expression sobering. "What do you mean, 'right'?"

Blair sighed and looked up at him earnestly, "Even before we started seeing movies together," (and here Dan smiled at her description of their unlikely friendship) "I knew that this was it. Getting your own novel published was your dream. Out of all of us, you've known what you wanted to do with your life the longest. Some people never figure out what they want to do, what their passion is and you've known since, well since before I even knew you. Even before I liked you, I respected you for it and now I'm your friend and it just doesn't seem right for you to be experiencing one of the biggest nights of your life and have no family or friends to celebrate it with."

Dan stared down at her in awe and gulped as the regret of all that had happened caught up with him, he tried to think of the words to express everything he was feeling but was at a loss so settled for a simple "Thank you, Blair."

Blair once again smiled sadly at him, "This doesn't mean I approve of the way you went about achieving your dreams, Humphrey, although I'll be the first to appreciate a good scheme and convincing Serena to date you in order to climb the social ladder was clearly effective but – "

"It wasn't all some epic scheme, Blair." Dan interrupted slightly annoyed. Rolling his eyes because he now knew what he had to do, he took his hand off her waist and stepped away from her, however, he still held steadfast onto her left hand, "Come with me." Dragging her through the crowd he pulled her over to a table covered in 'goodie bags' for the guests, which all included a copy of _Inside _and handed one to her. "Read it," he commanded, "You may never talk to me again but at least you'll know."

"Will you sign it for me?" she asked nervously, realizing the significance of the moment; Dan Humphrey was saying goodbye.

"Sure," he replied and finding a pen lying on the desk quickly scrawled his signature on the inside cover.

"What? No personal message, Humphrey? Even for a future princess?" She asked playfully.

Dan chuckled softly, "Everything I've ever wanted to say to you, Blair, is already in there; the whole damned book is your very own personal message from me to you." He wasn't sure where he got the courage from to be so forward with her; it was probably the alcohol. Or maybe it was the fact that it was now or never; Blair would be leaving for Monaco tomorrow night and he doubted whether he would ever see her again.

Blair took the book from him gingerly, nervously running her fingers over the cover. Then with some resolve she looked up at him, stepped forward and hugged him, kissing him softly on the cheek, she whispered into his ear, "Take care of yourself, Cabbage Patch." Finally she turned away from him and walked out of the room, Dan stared after her but she didn't look back.

**Pleas review!**


	2. Part 2

**Part 2**

_How could he have been so stupid?_ Blair thought to herself angrily. With one misplaced manuscript he had ruined everything; not only had he destroyed all of his relationships with his family and friends but with one fowl swoop he had also completely obliterated his own character. When had _Dan Humphrey_ become the villain? Blair had been reluctant to read the first chapter of _Inside_, in fact it was Serena who had finally convinced her to even purchase the magazine, which was odd in itself since normally Blair was the one who made it her mission to know everything. So she had bought the magazine, if only to appease her blonde friend, but she hadn't yet opened it, choosing rather to keep it on her bedside table. And for the next few weeks it seemed to haunt her; it was there every night making sure that even when she could sleep it was fitful and not for long, and it was there every morning, as if to mock her tired eyes. It was a constant reminder that once again another man in her life had only served to disappoint her; she was beginning to think she was cursed. Yet she couldn't bring herself to throw it out, so instead she threw herself into her wedding plans because if there was one man in her life whom she could trust to always be perfect, it was Louis.

Louis, who from the moment he had met her had whisked her into this modern fairytale, although she was starting to realise why the stories never continued after _"Happily ever after"_; life as a princess was not exactly as she had pictured it to be. However, Louis had been good for her; he had brought her fully out of the darkness that was her relationship with Chuck Bass. Yet, she couldn't help but remind herself, that it had been the time she spent with Dan Humphrey that had meant that she was ready for a relationship with Louis when he had arrived in New York. Dan and her had begun a reluctant friendship that was born out of a mutual love for Serena. From there they had realized that they had more things in common than they ever could have expected. It was a relief that (_finally!_) she had someone with whom she could discuss her passion for the arts and feel properly challenged. When the two were together she couldn't begin to describe the amount of satisfaction she got from their verbal sparring; it was a rush equivalent to a successful scheme and yet she never had to work hard for it.

Everything between Dan and Blair had been completely natural; she never felt as if she had to please him nor did he ever act as if he had to restrain himself from saying anything that would hurt her feelings because they were never _trying_ to be friends; it had just _happened_. It was one of the few relationships in her life where neither party had wanted to gain anything out of it other than the other person's company. Even Blair couldn't deny the fact that she had secretly relished in every moment she had spent with Dan Humphrey since Thanksgiving, no matter how frustrating he could be and even if he was from (ugh) _Brooklyn_. He was an intellectual snob, she would often remind herself should she get too giddy in anticipation of seeing him, but then this argument would always be countered (with a voice that sounded all too uncomfortably like Humphrey) that she was in fact a snob too – of all kinds. But it wasn't just literature and movies that they discussed; Chuck and Serena would sometimes make an appearance in their conversations. Together they had somehow managed to help each other move on; her to Louis and him to… well, he wasn't dating anyone (that she knew of) yet and she doubted that he could ever be over Serena; men always chose Serena. Which was perhaps why she had tried so hard to make her relationship work with Chuck and why she had thrown herself into the fairytale that was Louis; they had never shown any sign of wanting Serena over her. Not that it in any way bothered her that Dan Humphrey had.

When she had received her invitation to Dan's book launch she had been surprised. Then she had felt annoyed because not only did she have the first chapter mocking her from her bedside table but now she also had the invitation as a glaring reminder that the rest of it was still to come. Why hadn't he put a stop to it all when he had found out what Vanessa had done? Surely enough damage had already been done from just the first chapter. What more could he possibly hope to gain from having the whole thing published? Maybe it was this next feeling of curiosity that drove her to ditch Louis at some Embassy Dinner by faking a migraine. More likely though, it was probably the fact that when she asked Serena if the rest of her family would be attending and she had been answered with a bitter laugh and a firm no, she had felt sad for Humphrey. Because wasn't the Humphrey family the epitome of perfection not so long ago? Before the divorce, before the social ascension of Rufus, before the rise and fall of Little J, weren't they supposed to have been the wholesome ones? Blair's family too had been the picture perfect family once upon a time before her father had brought that all crashing down. And although, in the public eye, they were no longer flawless she could still count on their love and support. Was Dan's novel so unforgiveable that his family and friends were not able to look past it and support him in his dream come true? Yes, that was probably it. She had left the side of her prince to go to the book launch of a reluctant friend because she pitied him. (But possibly also because she missed him.)

When she arrived at the party she paid no attention to the fact that she was slightly overdressed but rather scanned the room for Humphrey, whom she was surprised to find alone, nursing a glass of champagne at the bar. For some reason this struck a chord with her because he looked like Chuck, and Dan wasn't Chuck Bass; he was better than that. So she made her way over to him and they had danced, and she had made him laugh, which had sent a thrill through her and then before she knew it, he was handing her his book and they were saying goodbye. It took every ounce of strength in her to not look back as she left the room and Dan Humphrey behind.

Blair did not hesitate in opening the book and beginning to read as soon as she got home. When Louis arrived back at the Waldorf's, he was slightly surprised to find his fiancée still dressed in her evening gown and immersed in a book on the living room settee; he had thought that her 'migraine' might have sent her to bed. Distractedly she kissed him briefly on the lips and sent him up to her bedroom, claiming that she would follow him to bed in a little while. But she never made good on that promise and could be found the next morning looking a little worse for wear but having made a rather large dent in the novel. Darota tried to offer her some breakfast but was quickly dismissed and Louis just looked on in confusion, wondering whether he would ever understand the inner workings of the beautiful brunette. They had made plans to spend their last day in New York picnicking in Central Park before they had their farewell cocktail party that night; their private jet would be departing for Monaco just before midnight. However, when Louis mentioned this to Blair she made some feeble excuse that she would have to spend the day organising the cocktail party because something had gone wrong with the caterers. The fact that Blair was so blatantly lying to him worried the prince slightly, however, he couldn't bring himself to get too upset; after all, it was only a book she would be spending her day with, not Chuck Bass. And so he left her to it and decided to give Cyrus a call; perhaps his generous future father-in-law would have time to entertain him.

Just as Louis suspected, Blair did not spend her last day in New York organising their farewell cocktail party but rather spent it reading. Darota looked on with concern but knew better than to disturb the brunette, who seemed to be completely immersed. By four pm, Blair, looking much worse for wear, had finished. If Darota had expected some kind of emotional reaction to the completion of the book, she was sorely disappointed; rather it seemed that Blair was in a daze, although this could be attributed to her complete lack of sleep. With some concern, the maid ushered her quarry to bed for a few hours sleep before she had to start getting ready for her guests. Blair slept soundly. By the time the first guests arrived, one wouldn't have known that Blair was sleep deprived; she was all things sparkly, wearing a gown that Louis had bought her. Whether it was from her Upper East Side upbringing or her recent training to be a future princess, Blair acted the perfect hostess and if Darota noticed that she seemed slightly dazed, she did not mention it. In fact to the untrained eye, Blair Waldorf, looked perfectly happy, it wasn't until she was caught in a conversation with Louis, Serena, her mother and Cyrus, that this façade started to show cracks.

Blair hadn't really been paying much attention to the conversation until her mother saw fit to ask where Dan Humphrey was that evening. Almost immediately Serena's expression turned ice-cold but Eleanor Waldorf seemed oblivious to the sudden tension surrounding her, as she asked, "Weren't you two friends, Blair? He was always such a nice boy, aside from his inability to grasp any sort of concept of fashion."

For once, Blair seemed to be lost for words, her mouth gaping slightly as a soft flush emerged on her face. She needn't have worried though because Serena took it upon herself to explain the situation, her words laced with the anger she was still unable to let go of, "Dan isn't one of us anymore," she said, "he wrote a book" (and here Louis looked at Blair, who had decided to look anywhere but him) "and let's just say that it wasn't exactly flattering for any of us."

"If you'll excuse me," Blair interrupted before the conversation could go any further, "I must go talk to the caterers; I told them that I wanted the Peking duck _after_ the Salmon rillettes! You just can't find good staff these days!" And not waiting for a reply, she hastened to the kitchen. Finding herself away from all her guests, she took some deep breaths; _I will not think about that book tonight_, she thought to herself. She hadn't decided when she would think about the book, (_perhaps never?_) but tonight definitely was not the time; _she just had to get through tonight then she would be back in Monaco and away from all this mess_.

"Blair?" asked a voice tentatively.

Spinning around, Blair sighed with relief, "Cyrus," she breathed, "You scared me!"

She had expected him to perhaps chuckle in response but instead, Cyrus' usually jovial face was sporting an expression of concern, "is everything alright?" he asked.

"Of course it is!" Blair retorted, automatically going into defence mode, "Why wouldn't it bit? I'm going to be a princess!"

"_Blair_", Cyrus admonished, "if there is anything bothering you at all, now would be the time to talk about it; Louis just mentioned that you would be leaving soon." Instantly, Blair's eyes started to well with tears and hiccupping softly she threw herself at her stepfather, wrapping her arms around him as she sobbed on his shoulder. To his credit, the shocked man wordlessly returned the hug, sensing that if Blair was going to tell him what was going on, he needed to keep quiet. After a few minutes, Blair pulled back from her stepfather but before she could explain exactly what had just come over her, she was interrupted by her fiancée, "Blair", called Louis softly as he walked into the kitchen, "it's time my darling." The girl immediately wiped at her tears, and giving Cyrus one last hug she quickly walked back into the party to farewell her guests. No one seemed to be surprised by Blair's tears, putting it down to sad goodbyes.

Finally, it was just Blair and Louis. They were standing outside the building she had grown up in and his driver stood patiently waiting for them to get into the town car. Louis, always the gentleman, indicated that she enter the vehicle first but Blair found herself rooted to the spot. Tears ran quickly down her cheeks as she turned to the prince, who audibly sighed as he realised what she was about to do. "I can't," she whispered.

Louis nodded and gave her a watery smiled, "To be honest, I'm not all that surprised."

"Louis – " Blair tried but he held his hand up as a silent signal that she should stop.

"I hope this Dan Humphrey realizes just how special you are, Blair," he said softly and with a broken heart he stepped into the car. Blair watched silently as the car pulled away from the kerb and headed off into the night, _he does_, she thought to herself and with the firm resolve of a Waldorf on a mission she wiped away her tears and flung out her arm in an attempt to hail a cab. If only it could be that easy, apparently a Saturday night in New York City was not the best time to find a free cab. Never being one for patience, the once-princess-to-be looked around in agitation until she spotted a sign a block down the road, _desperate times_, she thought with some resignation. Trust Humphrey to cause her to take such _drastic_ measures.

_Meanwhile, back in Brooklyn…_

Dan sighed as he looked around the loft now empty of all of his belongings; it was almost as if he had never been there. He had dropped most of his stuff off at his new apartment earlier that day but decided that for sentimental reasons he would spend one last night at the loft drinking beer and watching a horror flick. For what must have been the thousandth time that night he grabbed his phone out of his pocket and checked the time; it was nearly 12.30am and he felt more awake now than ever. Blair Waldorf had left New York. He walked over to the large window in their living area and admired the lights of the city; it seemed odd to him that nothing looked different even after the departure of someone who was so important. How could New York still be _New York_ without Blair Waldorf? Dan laughed quietly to himself as he realised that once again he had broken a promise to himself: that "irritating crush" he had been so sure he would be rid of by now was as strong as ever – actually, if he was honest with himself (and what better time than the present to start being honest?) it had become much _more_ than just a crush quite a while ago. He took another swig of his beer and grimaced slightly; it was starting to get warm. He glanced around and noticed his laptop sitting on the kitchen bench. He considered it for a while and thought about his options. He could stay here, finish off the six pack he had waiting for him in the fridge and watch _Psycho_ just as he had planned or he could do exactly what he had wanted to do as soon as the clock had struck midnight. _No regrets_, he thought to himself as he rushed over to the laptop and set about booking the next flight to Monaco.

Just as he had begun entering his credit card details into the flight booking, Dan heard a soft knock at the door. Immediately he glanced up at the time displayed on the monitor: 12.47am. He was about to put the sound down to the four beers he had consumed earlier when he heard the knocking again, louder this time. Slowly he stepped away from the kitchen bench and went to open the door, briefly wondering what his life had come to that he almost expected to find a pregnant Georgina standing on the other side. He couldn't have been more surprised to find that it was actually Blair Waldorf. He didn't need to pinch himself in order to confirm that this wasn't a dream because the sudden onslaught of her tiny fists pummelling his chest felt much too painful than anything his imagination could have conjured up. Dan stepped quickly back into the loft attempting to get out of the way of what he was now mentally calling her 'fists of fury' but she chased him in, starting to shout at him now and using each blow to his chest as a means of emphasis. "Humphrey!" she cried, "You are the most _infuriating_," punch, "_irritating,_" smack, "_impossible_," but before she could get another hit in, Dan managed to grab her wrists and hold them to her side. "_Ugh!"_ she ground out as she struggled from his grip on her, "Let go of me!" She shouted petulantly, "I'm not done yet!"

"_Blair_," Dan breathed as he took in her appearance; her hair, which was normally the picture of not-one-strand-out-of-place perfection, was wild and even starting to frizz at the ends, her long and sparkly silver dress was wet at the bottom and had a rather large streak of dirt across it, and her shoes… well, Dan thought, no wonder she was so angry. To put it mildly: Blair Waldorf looked frazzled. "Aren't you supposed to be in _Monaco_?" asked Dan, his voice filled with confusion not daring to let his thoughts get ahead of him.

"Of course I'm _supposed_ to be in Monaco!" retorted Blair, trying really hard not to roll her eyes, "Just like I was _supposed_ to never see _Nenette_ with you, or how I was _supposed _to never kiss you –"

"Twice." Dan interrupted, a soft smirk starting to grace itself on his features.

But Blair either didn't hear him or (more likely) chose to ignore him as she continued, "Like I was _supposed_ to hate you, or at the very _least_ be repulsed by you; I mean look at what you're wearing!" Dan raised his eyebrows but decided not to point out the current state of her own clothes for his own personal safety, "Just like I was _supposed_ to _never_," and here she visibly shuddered, "_ever_ take the subway; the subway to get to _Brooklyn_ for that matter!"

"You took the _subway_?" Dan interrupted again, completely astounded by this bit of information.

This time Blair really did roll her eyes, "You're missing the point, Humphrey."

"The point?" he whispered, trying to quell the hope that was starting to rise in his chest.

"I read you're book," she announced.

"Oh…" he responded eloquently whilst his eyes searched her face for any indication of what she was thinking.

"You see me." She said simply. If Dan was lost for words before, he certainly was now. But Blair wasn't waiting for a response so she continued, "You see all of me, the good and the bad, but you don't hate me."

He wasn't sure if this was a question or a statement so he replied, "No. I don't hate you."

Blair nodded and looked around the loft, her eyes landing on his laptop, "What were you doing?" she asked.

Dan chuckled quietly, "I was actually about to book a flight to Monaco; I hear it's the place to be this time of year." And then realizing her eyes were welling up he continued quickly, "But I don't think I'll bother anymore; I'd much rather be here." Blair smiled softly up at him and deciding to throw caution to the wind (because if not now then when?) he lowered his head and kissed her, letting go of his hold on her wrists and placing his hands softly on her waist. She reacted almost immediately and threw her arms around his neck, bridging the gap between them. Dan marvelled at the way they seemed to fit perfectly together as he nipped at her bottom lip and she opened her mouth, granting him entrance. The kiss deepened as his tongue massaged hers, exploring her mouth the way he had dreamt of during the past few months. She moaned softly as he dragged his lips away from her mouth and started kissing down her neck, leaving a mark he was sure she would kill him for in the morning just above her collarbone. A thought occurred to him and he removed his lips from her causing her to whimper slightly (_Did I just make _Blair Waldorf_ whimper?_) and he breathed hotly into her ear, "Did you _really_ ride the subway for me?"

Blair put her hands on either side of his face and made eye contact with him, "If you and I are ever going to work, Humphrey," and here she tried not to laugh as she noticed his face light up, "then you are going to have to understand that seeing me on the subway, was a once in a lifetime event." Dan threw his head back and laughed at this, his hands still placed firmly on her hips radiating warmth throughout her body.

He leaned down and kissed her briefly on the lips, "I just meant, that I'm _flattered_ Blair." He said with a playful grin, "Who knew that all one had to do to get Queen B on a subway was write a novel explaining, in every which way, how much you love her."

"Love?" she whispered.

Dan's eyes widened in shock as he realised the gravity of the words he had just spoken and the fact that he didn't want to take them back. He looked at her sincerely, "Yes." He answered, "Love."

Blair gazed up at him silently, searching for any signs on his face that he was being anything but sincere; she found none. When had all this happened? When had _Dan Humphrey_ gone from villain to leading man? Here she was in the middle of (ugh) _Brooklyn_, in the arms of a man wearing plaid with the taste of beer on his lips and she couldn't be happier. She had left the passion and pain of the epic love that was _ChuckandBlair_ in search of a simpler love. And she had found that simpler love in the shape and form of Louis, her real-life prince charming. But just as Chuck had predicted, she became bored easily. In fact her whole life had become boring because she hadn't had the regular appearances of Dan Humphrey in it, which she had become used to in the months that followed Thanksgiving. She had nearly returned to Chuck (she had _cheated_ on Louis and even now still felt the hot shame of that fact) just to be with someone who knew about and accepted her darker side. She had told Chuck that people didn't write sonnets and stories about the simple kind of love that she had with Louis. Dan had managed to write a whole damned book about their love; with every page she had wondered at the fact that she was able to see right through her and yet she was still presented as the heroine. Dan loved her; he _really_ loved her despite all the awful things she had done. And he made her happy, truly happy – something that neither Chuck nor Louis would ever be able to do. Without knowing it, Blair had unwittingly found everything she had been looking for in the arms of Lonely Boy. If her sixteen year old self could see her now… Over the past year, Dan had become her best friend; their regular movie nights whilst she had been in Monaco had kept her emotionally afloat and their constant bickering and teasing had made her feel more _alive_ than she had felt in a long time. How had it taken her so long to realise? Typical really, that Blair Waldorf could be so caught up in her own denial that it would literally take a _novel_ to make her see clearly.

"I love you too." She said softly but sincerely as a smile started to grow on her face. Dan grinned down at her as she rambled nervously (_Dan Humphrey_ was making her _ramble_, if her riding the subway didn't confirm her feelings then this certainly did), "Sorry it took me so long to realise… how could I be so… I mean I – "

But whatever she was about to say was soon interrupted as Dan exaggeratedly rolled his eyes in mimicry of the girl standing before him and cried out, "Oh, for crying out loud, Waldorf!" and he pulled her full against him, his lips once again finding hers.

**The End**

**A/N: Too cheesy? Haha I'm not really sure what came over me in this last part – maybe some kind of fluff monster took over my mind briefly there… Either way, please do review and let me know what you think! I'm not sure how happy I am about this story but I figured I just needed to get it out of my system.**


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